2020GIR Global

Security
Since the 1990s, the issue of poverty has infiltrated security
studies at the policy level. Why is this so? Why is poverty
so important in contemporary security studies?

Jon Andre Pedersen (s2821823)

Convenor: Simon Leitch
Campus: Gold Coast
Due Date: 24.05.13
Word Count: 2175
Sent in on Safeassign 24.05.13 23:59 pm

Jon Andre Pedersen (s2821823)

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Poverty has been around for as long as there have been humans. For much of
history, poverty was considered largely unavoidable as traditional models of
production were insufficient to give an entire population a comfortable standard of
living. However, today poverty reduction is a major goal and concern for an
increasingly share of the civil society, among NGOs and nations and for most global
institutions such as the UN, IMF and the World Bank. Relating to this, what is also of
amplified importance is the emergence of human security for understanding these
global vulnerabilities. Poverty is highly interrelated with human security because
poverty has diminishing effects on individual integrity and life which is what human
security focuses on and has gained interest in the aftermath of the Cold War. This
essay will argue that since the 1990s, poverty has infiltrated security studies at the
policy level due to several global changes after the Cold War, which altered the focus
on security from a state-centric approach to a more focused emphasis on human
security. Moreover, interrelated with the new trend of focusing on human security, the
significance of poverty for the individuals, and the nations and in the global context
have got significant attention as the effects of poverty are huge in these three
aforementioned dimensions. This paper will first elaborate on the change of
emphasis within security studies from state security to human security and briefly
argue that poverty and human security are essentially synonymous. Furthermore,
this paper will build on the human security approach and show that poverty is of
paramount concern for the individual, for the nation and for the world, and in order to
fully achieve human security in the world the fundamental causes need to be
addressed.
After the end of the Cold War, the issue of poverty became an increased dimension
in security studies on an individual, national and a global level. In this era, global
politics saw several major shifts, for example, in the drastic increase of the scale of
humanitarian crises; in the rise of intrastate conflicts in developing nations; in the
expansion of international economic integrations resulting in increased inequalities
and political upheaval (Williams, 2010). These evolving global political changes in
the 1990s resulted in increased consideration of the probable connection of security
and poverty in the literature (Buzan & Hansen, 2009, p. 4). Through this process, the
mainstream security agenda merged with the mainstream development agenda
(Williams, 2010; Duffield as cited in Wilkin, 2002). This resulted in the literature of
1

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security studies, which throughout the Cold War had traditionally a state-centric
approach, being gradually challenged by other aspects of security (Walt, 1991, p.
214), in particular by human security (Baldwin, 1995, p. 117). 1 2 This meant a
growing trend of replacing the traditional approach, focusing mainly on military
statecraft and safeguarding the territorial integrity of the nation (Buzan & Hansen,
2009, p. 1), to a greater significance on socioeconomic dimensions (i.e. poverty)
(United Nations Foundations, 2004), albeit with acknowledgment of the important
role of the state. Human security focuses on the pursuit of security being about the
individual, their wellbeing and the protection and fulfilment of their human rights
(Williams, 2010; Heinbecker, 1999, p. 6) and institutions being subordinate to this
end (Wilkin, 2002). Moreover, by using the human security approach, it is clear that
poverty is important for most citizens in the world and that it has a significant direct
relevance for security studies (Williams, 2010). As Williams (2010) argues, poverty
and insecurity are two sides of the same coin and are in many ways synonymous.
For instance, they both highly relate to and focus on deprivation of an array of
human entitlements for the individual, such as basic needs, employment and stability
(Peoples & Vaughan-Williams, 2010, p. 22).

The response and protests towards increasing economic polarisation and

widespread poverty has sharply risen since the mid-1990s (Williams, 2010). This has
involved movements from the grassroots level through to the state and NGOs which
have played a vital role in growing awareness of the issue and boosting aid to those
in dire need (Thomas, 2000). Moreover, due to the influence of grassroots
movements and NGOs, as well as the role of the media and new forms of
communicational technology (Erler, 2012), the growth of a moral sense and a global
ethic has commanded attention from citizens worldwide to deal with problems and
injustice internationally (Brown, 2009; Toye, 2007).
1 See Buzan (1991) for the most comprehensive theoretical analysis of the concept of security in IR, which
sought to expand the security agenda to incorporate not just military, but political, economic, societal and
ecological concerns.

2 Usually. during the Cold War, various issues in which military statecraft was not relevant were consigned to the
category of low politics. This meant that in terms of security, economic issues and poverty was of lesser focus
and priority (Eadie, 2007).

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For the vast majority, human security and poverty is of the uttermost concern
(Thomas, 2000). According to the World Bank 2.8 billion people live on less than $2
per day (cited in Eadie, 2007). In addition, millions of impoverished people are
deprived of fundamental entitlements such as shelter, sufficient food, healthcare,
education, employment and a life free of criminality, violence, crime and
discrimination (Williams, 2010). Importantly, these entitlements are interdependent,
meaning that the loss of one often leads to the loss or decline in another (Williams,
2010). What further reinforces the role of poverty on the individual level in the
contemporary world is the fact that, as put forward by Thomas (2000), the ability of
the worlds poor to secure their families and communities in terms of basic needs is
diminishing. Poverty stalemates human development in all its forms (Bolton, 2007),
and can ultimately be regarded as a violation of human dignity as it deprives
individuals of their fundamental choices and opportunities (Thomas, 2000, p. 5) and
lowers their capacity to withstand insults to the body, mind and human spirit from
malnourishment, disease, dehydration and discrimination (Bolton, 2007). Thus, it is
clear that poverty has profound effects for the individual and for a significant portion
of the world. Moreover, there is a correlation between the level of entitlement that a
nation offers and the inclination for conflict in regards to intrastate (Smith, 1997). 3
Poverty has always affected the security of the state (Leitch, 2013), and according to
the UN, the poorer states are more likely to experience conflict and civil war, than
richer countries (Williams, 2010). 4 Declining economic activity raises the likelihood
of national conflict (Miguel, 2006), and vice versa; conflict lowers economic activity
(Blomberg, Hess & Thacker 2006; Busumtwi-Sam, 2002, p. 254; UNDP, 2005, p.
157). Millions of people lose their life due to famine, disease and violent intra-state
conflicts that arise in the circumstances of great deprivation (Kennedy, 2012).
Poverty may lead to conflict within states because the deprivation of fundamental
rights and freedoms often leave people with two choices and that is to accept those
violations or object and fight. According to Van Munster (2007, p. 234-235) citizens in
3 This is for example evident in the period from 1990-95 where 57 per cent of nations experiencing war were
ranked low on the UN Human Development Index, while only 14 per cent were ranked high (Smith, 1997).

4 However, intra-state inequality is also a source of conflict which holds true for Western countries as well as
developing nations (Nafziger & Auvinen, 2002, p. 153). See Wilkinson (2011) for a fascinating TED Talk about
inequality within societies resulting in major decline in all kinds of social aspects.

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dire poverty have a tendency to blame others for their current situation, and as a
result most of the problems are normally blamed on the authority or government
(Selby & Cochrane, 2002, p. 2). Numerous revolutions across the world have been
inspired by ideologies such as unemployment and poverty (Floyd, 2007, p. 328;
Abernethy, 1993) and are often mobilized on religious or ethnic basis (Panday, 2011,
p.10) as well as with a growing gun culture expanding insecurity (Booth, 1991, p.
315; Leitch, 2013). In addition, after the Cold War, intrastate conflicts have become
more common than interstate conflicts, and, in contrast to the wars fought in the
beginning of the twentieth century, in these conflicts most of the casualties are
civilians (Smith, 1997, p. 14). Furthermore, those prone towards an unstable nation,
that harbours impoverished citizens foster extremism, crime, corruption and
aggression (Messer, Marc & Marchione, 2001, p. 13; DFID 2005, p. 54), as it can
arise to fight off hopelessness when reality offers no probable solution (Abernethy,
1993). In addition, impoverished countries lack their own budgetary resources
needed to supply the services needed for their citizens (Kennedy, 2012). The poor
are therefore either trapped, as the lack of public services leads to hunger and
poverty or they may end up with clientalism, meaning the poor may get reliant on
non-state actors such as mafia and warlords (Leitch, 2013). Thus, poverty has wider
significance for the state as the tax income for the government is then small and this
diminishes the support policies needed to alleviate poverty (Kennedy, 2012).
Moreover, as put forward by (Thomas, 2000), weak state-society relations in fact
means that states often hamper rather than support the achievement of human
security for their citizens. This clearly shows that poverty has significant effects on
the nation and how it operates. If nations are to prevent violent conflict and human
distress, they will have to make critical decisions pivotal for human security (Alagh,
2002) to ensure a comprehensive and reasonable approach to development
(Thomas, 2000). However, because the effects of poverty on the nation often are
cyclical and that the poorer nations often lack the capabilities to break out of this
cycle (Leitch, 2013), foreign aid is thus needed (Sachs & Sachs, 2011) as it will be
difficult to solve for the respective nation by merely acting alone.
The end of the Cold War saw a number of crises develop in global politics resulting
in several global institutions focusing more on human security (Wilkin, 2002, p. 635).
Chiefly since the 1990s poverty and development has been moving to the centre
4

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stage of the global political agenda, mainly due to realisation of global governance
agencies that poverty and security is intimately linked, and that it need to be
approached in terms of human security (Midgley & Tang, 2009; Thomas, 2000). The
aftermath of the Cold War has witnessed a deepening of global poverty (Bilgin, 2003,
p. 205), bringing with it an array of major social and political problems (Sachs, 2001).
5

The enhanced interest of human security in the post-cold war era as the impact of

global poverty was producing big social crises; famine, mass unemployment, mass
migration, the revival and spread of infectious diseases, (reactionary political
ideologies), which have all gathered pace and may have profound regional or global
consequences (Hall & Fox, 2001). 6 Influential global governance institutions are
arising to these threats, recognizing that if the poor are left hopeless, then poverty
may very well undermine societies and the global world order through confrontation,
violence and public disorder (Camdessus as cited in Thomas, 2000; Collins, 2009, p.
6; Williams, 2010).The readily response from various global institutions have
occurred through pressure from the public for the moral incentive to moral imperative
to help others in need (Panday, 2011, p. 69; Toye, 2007) and particularly from NGOs
which have influenced the neoliberal policies to reform, as they were perceived as a
failure in the 1980s and devastated millions of livelihoods (Williams, 2010; Thomas,
2000).
A critique of current development policy is a key focus for security studies (Douzinas,
2000). Because, the fundamental causes at the basis of poverty must be addresses
or the achievement of human security will be impossible (Thomas, 2000).
As Williams (2010) argues, the large inequalities in the world do not just happen;
they are the result of actions or inactions by human beings in government or in
international institutions. The present model of development is failing to deliver to
the majority of individuals across the world, and in some cases seems to be making

5
6 Interestingly, Smith (cited in Thomas, 2000) states that approximately 15 million die of hunger related disease
every year (which means the equivalent of the total numbers killed in First and Second World Wars, die of
poverty every second year. Moreover, the massive inequality is evident in the numbers illustrated by Smith that
one-sixth of the worlds population is receiving 80 per cent of global income, whereas 57 per cent of the global
populations consume only 6 per cent (Thomas, 2000).

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a significant contribution to the deterioration of the human condition. 7 Therefore,

finally, if the world is to overcome the consequences of the drive of poverty, abuse,
and conflict, plus the lack of opportunities in developing countries, it will require a
commitment to equity and human rights in every part of the world Cohen (2009).

In conclusion, this essay has argued that in the aftermath of the Cold War, poverty
has infiltrated security studies at the policy level because of several shifts which
occurred in the 1990s. These shifts altered the focus on security from a focus on
states sovereignty and military to a focus on human security which has the state still
as an important role but which is secondary to the pursuit of the individual, their
wellbeing and their protection. In addition this essay has argued that when using the
human security approach to poverty it is apparent that poverty is of the uttermost
concern to the individual as it affects a large portion of citizens worldwide with
millions of people being deprived of fundamental needs and entitlements.
Furthermore, poverty is of pivotal concern for the nation because if poverty is
widespread within the nation there is significantly increased likelihood of revolutions,
and intrastate conflict. Poverty may also foster a gun culture, extremism, crime and
corruption which all are highly detrimental for the state. Also, impoverished states
often lack the resources to supply for their citizens, which results in that both the
nation and the individual are trapped in a cycle of poverty. Moreover, after the Cold
War there has been a deepening of global poverty which can result in substantial
problems. For example, if global poverty is not taken seriously big social crises may
occur, such as famine, mass migration and the spread of infectious disease. Lastly,
as put forward by Wilkin (2002) improvements in human security will need to involve
poverty reduction, and likewise, poverty reduction will decrease human insecurity, as
the fundamental causes of poverty must be addressed or the achievement of human
security will be impossible.

7 In addition it is also extensively debated what constitutes human security as there is no consensus of what the
term involves.

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